Silent Way's RADAR Quickstart Guide

This guide for the iZ RADAR audio recorder will flatten the learning curve for all users. This guide is not designed as a replacement for the official manuals, available from iZ Technology.

Note that this quickstart guide primarily refers to the system that Silent Way offers, the iZ RADAR V Nyquist with system software 3.5x or 3.4x. Other models in the RADAR family (the older RADAR I, II, 24 and the newer 6) and older software versions are slightly different than Silent Way's RADAR V units, but most of this will still apply.

Chapter 1: RADAR V Overview

RADAR is a professional digital multitrack audio recorder. RADAR's various models have a long track record since 1994 as dependable, elite recorders with unparalleled audio quality. The Analog-to-Digital converters have won many shootouts against the most expensive recorders and workstations. RADAR's hardware has steadily improved, resulting in the current top-of-the-line model V (pronounced "vee", not "five"). The latest software achieves mass appeal with instant Pro Tools interchange, eSATA/USB2 connectivity and a fully featured editing environment.

Each rock-solid RADAR V Nyquist records 24 tracks of pristine Pro Tools-compatible 24 bit/96k timestamped Broadcast WAV audio. It uses SATA drives in removable sleds, or inexpensive external eSATA drives which are up to 6 times faster than FireWire. If your mix system doesn't have eSATA yet, use a drive enclosure with multiple connectors (eSATA/USB2/FireWire), or do a quick FTP copy over Gigabit ethernet to any drive. Also, RADAR's Dual RAID mode can record directly to two identical drives for instant backup.

RADAR has everything in one unit for instant setup: the recorder, A/D, D/A, digital I/O (AES, S/PDIF, TDIF, ADAT), hard drives, DVD-RAM burner, timecode sync and power. Multiple units are easily linked together for 48 tracks, 72 or more. The dedicated hardware Session Controller offers one-function/one-button control for most tasks, and a real 48-channel, 20-segment meterbridge. An LCD monitor displays full waveforms, timecode and status. But there's no computer, no buggy software, and no track count reduction at high sample rates. It's the best of both worlds!

Each RADAR unit can be equipped with a choice of digital interfaces and analog converters. The converters capable of 44.1-48k are called "Classic", the 88.2-96k converters are "Nyquist" and the converters capable of all sample rates up to 192k are called "S-Nyquist". The RADAR 24 and earlier models have reduced track counts when recording at sample rates above 48k. The RADAR V can record all 24 tracks at any sample rate.